Heat the olive oil on low/medium in a medium sauté/frying pan and add the chopped onions. Sauté until slightly translucent. *Hint* In our house we always start the onions with a few tablespoons of olive oil but usually use a little water if they start sticking to the pan to cut down on the amount of oil we use. After the onions have been sautéed for a few minutes, add the Worcestershire sauce, 4 tablespoons of ketchup and the fresh thyme leaves and cook for about 5 minutes. Pull the pan off of the stove and let cool.

Line a large cookie sheet (with sides) or a Pyrex cooking dish with a sheet of tin foil for easy clean-up later.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, egg and cooled onion mixture. Make sure to take off any rings you have on because we are about to get messy! Using your hands, mix all ingredients together. Once everything is mixed, form a “loaf” on the cookie sheet. Grab your ketchup bottle and pour a generous amount of ketchup over the top of the “loaf”. Using a spoon, spread the ketchup evenly across the top.

Slide your cooking sheet into the oven (middle shelf if you can) and let it bake for about an hour or until the internal temperature of the center of the meatloaf reaches 165.

Not only does this make a great dinner, but even better is leftovers on a sandwich for lunch the next day!

** hint place a baking sheet under the pan in case the strawberry juice bubbles over.

The Real Mojito

10 fresh Van Wilgen Grown Mojito mint leaves

1/2 lime, cut into 4 wedges

2 tablespoons white sugar, or to taste

1 cup ice cubes

1 1/2 fluid ounces white rum

1/2 cup club soda

Place mint leaves and 1 lime wedge into a sturdy glass. Use a muddler to crush the mint and lime to release the mint oils and lime juice. Add 2 more lime wedges and the sugar, and muddle again to release the lime juice. Do not strain the mixture. Fill the glass almost to the top with ice. Pour the rum over the ice, and fill the glass with carbonated water. Stir, taste, and add more sugar if desired. Garnish with the remaining lime wedge.

Enjoy!

May 2017

Balsamic Strawberry Asparagus

1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup balsamic vinegar

20 medium strawberries, sliced

10 leaves basil, chopped

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400◦.

Place asparagus on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.

Roast asparagus for 8-10 minutes, until just tender.

Boil. While the asparagus is roasting, boil the balsamic vinegar until reduced to about ¼ cup.

Serve and divide asparagus amongst plates and top with sliced berries, basil, and salt and pepper. Use a spoon to drizzle each serving of asparagus with the balsamic syrup and serve!

April 2017

Strawberry Muffins

John Franke

2 ½ cups fresh strawberries, sliced and slightly mashed

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

4 eggs, beaten

1 ¼ cups canola or coconut oil

Preheat oven to 425◦.

Combine dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Combine eggs and oil in a separate small mixing bowl.

Mix the strawberries into egg mixture.

Blend in flour mixture until thoroughly combined.

Spoon into greased muffin tins until nearly full.

Bake at 425◦ for 5 minutes. After that, reduce heat to 350◦ and bake an additional 15-19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

March 2017

Gluten Free Lemon Bars

John Franke

Gluten Free Lemon Bars

For the crust:

1/2 Cup of butter or margarine, melted

1/2 Cup of Gluten Free Flour, such as Cup4Cup

1/2 Cup Almond Flour

1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar

For the filling:

1 Cup of Sugar

2 Meyer Lemons, juiced

2 Eggs

3/4 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Lemon Zest

Pinch of Salt, optional

Powdered Sugar or Sugar Substitute, such as Splenda, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Lightly grease an 8×8 inch pan.

In a microwavable 2 quart bowl, melt butter or margarine for 30 seconds.

Add flours and powdered sugar to combine.Press into prepared pan.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until mixture begins to brown around the edges. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes.

With the same bowl, no need to clean it, add the juice of lemons and lemon zest.With a whisk or spatula, add sugar to combine.Add eggs, stirring to combine.Add baking powder and salt.Pour filling over the warm crust and return to the oven for 25 minutes.Filling will rise slightly and begin to brown when done.

Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes.Dust bars with powdered sugar or sugar substitute.Slice bars into diamonds.Store bars refrigerated for up to three days.

Enjoy!

January 2017

Sprout Salad

Alan Eddy

Sprouts are a crop that you can grow organically in your kitchen all winter long. Sprout kits are available in the Van Wilgen’s store (North Branford location). Select your favorite seeds or beans for sprouting according to the kit instructions.

The first step in making the salad is to make your favorite vinagrette dressing, or as follows: mix one part balsamic or wine vinegar, one part water, and two parts olive oil. Add garlic powder and black pepper (fresh from a grinder or cracked pepper out of a shaker). Shake well and shake again immediately before using.

The next step is to take a head of organic Romaine lettuce, cut off one inch from the stem end, and submerge in cold water in a large bowl for ten minutes. Drain the lettuce and tear it into one or two inch pieces. Spin in a salad spinner and store in a one gallon clear zipper-lock plastic bag in the fridge.

Take a fresh batch of sprouts from your sprouter, rinse them in cold water, and marinate them in the vinaigrette for twenty minutes. Put the Romaine lettuce in a bowl and put the marinated sprouts on top. Then add whatever you want to complete the salad. If you put in chunks of cucumber, cubes of tofu, or slices of radish, marinate those in the vinaigrette as well.

Be creative.

Enjoy!

December 2016

Lemon Rosemary Button Shortbread

Gina Amoroso

2 cups flour

1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Zest of 2 lemons, divided

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

32 small fresh rosemary sprigs

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Put flour, butter, granulated sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the zest of 1 lemon and rosemary. Mix on low speed, then increase to medium and mix until dough is no longer crumbly and just comes together.

2. Form dough into a disk and chill 30 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough until 1/2 in. thick. Cut dough into circles with a 1 1/2-in. cookie cutter. Reroll scraps as needed. Arrange on baking sheets 1 in. apart and chill 15 minutes.

3. Bake until light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

4. Mix powdered sugar, lemon juice, and the remaining zest until smooth. Spoon 1/2 tsp. glaze over each cooled cookie, spreading with the back of the spoon; then press 1 rosemary sprig into center of each cookie.

November 2016

Turkey & Green Apple Salad

Gina Amoroso

¼ c. fresh mint

1 small shallot

Juice of 1/2 large lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

2 tbsp. gin

1 tbsp. Honey

¾ c. canola oil

1 lb. leftover turkey

2 large Granny Smith apples

2 green onions

6 tbsp. chopped pistachios

5 oz. mixed green salad greens

To make dressing: In a food processor, pulse together mint, shallot, lemon juice, gin, and honey until shallot is minced. With food processor still running, slowly drizzle in oil.

Combine the first 8 ingredients (A1 – A8) in a large pot and cook on the stove until the onions are transparent. Then add the 5 remaining ingredients (B1 – B5). Stir, cook a little longer until apples are soft but not mushy, and serve at room temperature (or hot or cold as you wish).

Preheat the oven to 350°F…. Line muffin pans with liners and set aside.

Make the crust.

If you’re starting out with full-sheet graham crackers, you can use a food processor or blender to grind them up. Or crush them in a zipped top bag with a rolling pin. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and granulated sugar together with a rubber spatula in a medium bowl until combined. The mixture will be thick, coarse, and sandy. Press a heaping Tablespoon of mixture down into each liner, making sure the crust is tight and compact.

Pre-bake the crusts for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Make the filling:

.. In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer , beat the cream cheese on high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. On medium-high speed, beat in the egg yolks, scraping down the sides as needed. On high speed, beat in the sweetened condensed milk and lime juice until combined. Pour the filling evenly into each crust. Bake for 15-16 minutes or until the centers of the pies only slightly wiggle. Allow the pies to cool at room temperature in the pan set on a wire rack. Once completely cool, place the pan in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

.. I like to add fresh whipped cream to the top of each one just before serving.

As a side note these freeze well for approx..2 to 3 months.

.. yield 16 mini tarts

.. prep time approx. 30 min

.. total time 3 hours includes chilling time.

Enjoy!

August 2016

Fresh Strawberry Cobbler

Elaine Blackstone

3 cups fresh strawberries, diced

½-3/4 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup sugar

1 cup milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375.

In a medium bowl, add strawberries and ¾ cup sugar.

Stir to coat strawberries in sugar and set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.

Add in milk, vanilla extract and melted butter.

Stir until combined. A few lumps are ok.

Grease a 9-inch casserole dish.

Pour batter evenly into dish.

Spoon strawberries evenly on top of batter. Do NOT stir.

Baked for 35-40 minutes or until golden.

Serve warm or cold.

Even though the strawberries were already sweet I was glad I added in the full amount of sugar. Strawberries can have a slightly bitter taste so it was perfect.

Just before serving, cook linguine in large amount of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain well: transfer to large bowl. Add olive oil and toss well. Add sauce and toss again. Add Parmesan Cheese.

Line a baking sheet or pyrex dish with foil/parchment paper. Lay tomatoes in a single layer over baking sheet. Place whole, peeled garlic cloves in the plan with the tomatoes. Lay 5-6 basil leaves over the tomatoes and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Bake in pre heated oven at 325 until tomatoes are wrinkly- about 50 minutes. Carefully scoop up tomatoes, garlic and basil into a food processor or blender. Pulse tomato mixture until desired consistency. Enjoy with your favorite fresh pasta or if your like me a hunk of fresh bread for dipping is just delicious!

Did you know?

We love plants. We love everything about them. Everyone at Van Wilgen’s shares this passion for plants and everything they do for us. People have plants in their lives for many reasons; relaxation, therapy, growing fresh food and more. Our goal is simple, make you successful, whatever your reason is. Van Wilgen Grown is our pride and joy, we love that we are able to hand select plants just for you. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing plants that we grew and nurtured on our farm, go home with you. We hope you can experience the same pride we feel. Behind our great plants are great people. Van Wilgen’s just wouldn’t be the same without our team. Happy Gardening.

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